Church most trusted institution – survey

MANILA, Philippines - The church is the most trusted institution in the country, according to the 2014 Philippine Trust Index (PTI) conducted by EON Stakeholders Relations Firm that was presented to the media in Makati yesterday.

EON said the church being referred to by the respondents includes all religious institutions and not a particular group.

The PTI is a quantitative study that aims to determine the level of public trust in key institutions in the country – the church, government, private industries, academe, non-government organizations and the media.

Some 1,626 respondents that were interviewed include Filipinos who are at least 18 years old and who have access to print, online and broadcast media of not less than thrice a week, on average.

The survey was conducted from May to June 2014.

According to the survey, the church is still the most trusted institution among the public with a rating of 75 percent, followed by academe (53 percent), media (33 percent), business (13 percent), NGOs (12 percent) and the government (11 percent).

“The results show that trust is dynamic and that it can be built and eroded. It also highlighted that for Filipinos, trust can break communication barriers and is a tool that grounds relationships, which is why it will always be worthwhile to invest in building trust,” said Malyn Molina, EON assistant vice president for business development and strategic planning.

EON started conducting surveys on the trust ratings of local institutions in 2011 and the church and academe have enjoyed increases in trust ratings since 2012.

Interestingly, the church also saw a significant increase of 21 percent among informed citizens in urban areas. On the other hand, government experienced sliding trust ratings during the study period.

The people’s trust in government agencies had also dipped since 2012, with the largest decline experienced by the Office of the President and the Senate.

The latest study also showed that for government, integrity is the foremost trust driver, dwarfing competence, performance and leadership.

Four out of 10 Filipinos also stated that “not being corrupt” is the most important driver for them to trust government. However, less than 2 of 10 people believe government is not corrupt.

At least six out of 10 Filipinos also stated that they need to hear information about the government, business, NGOs and media at least two to three times in order to believe it.

Trust in the media remained constant for the two consecutive study periods.

Television commands the highest trust level among the general public, especially in rural areas, followed by radio and newspapers.